r/intuitiveeating

Tl;dr: If you have contributed to this sub or this movement... Thank you. This has changed my life in more ways than just eating. I wish I could pay all of you back. 🙇

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I'm new to the intuitive eating sphere. As a recently (no longer in denial) recovering binge eater... I have tried so many things. Food type rules, timing rules, ethics rules, etc. none of it worked more than a few weeks.

But Intuitive Eating is working... I no longer calculate or fear what I am going to eat based on what I ate earlier today / this week... Nor my eat based on physical activities or plan my cheats based on my invisible "reward scorecard".

I have evicted those "food police", and subsequently shed the giant ape from my brain. I cannot believe I finally am feeling ethereal, euphoric.

It has worked. So well that it has opened my mind to notice other external influences that I have engrained and drowned out my intuition. Accidental mindfulness?

Well I discovered that I also have "productivity police".

Probably another result of society, grind culture, growing up poor / resource scarcity, keeping up with jones, etc. Anyway for the longest time I could not spend a day off doing nothing. I always have to be cleaning, planning, prepping, studying, leaning a new skill/hobby, furthering my career / professional development.

The police would never allow me to just sit and play Mario kart for more than 30m unless I had earned it.

But now I realize how unhealthy this is for my psyche as well. The truth is I now have food, a job, and can afford rent. I should not have primal fear of scarcity through inaction.

So, I am going through the process of evicting the productivity police. Easier said than done.

Instead, focusing on what really will bring me fulfillment and satisfaction me in the moment. Just like Intuitive Eating, trusting that sometimes I will feel fulfilled by going for a jog, and other times it's watching reality TV. But to listen to the internal signals, and not the "hustle culture". Trust that my intuition knows what it really needs most during downtime. And by satisfying it, shedding all the stress and noise about worrying if I'm spending my time "correctly".

What better use is there for our short time on earth than to do the things that actually bring us joy and satisfaction? And to ignore what we are "told n'sold" will fulfill us (e.g owning a big house, being upper management, etc).

Use this thread to share anything you've been struggling with in your IE process.

Struggles may include learning how to read your hunger/fullness cues, feeling stuck on parts of the process, experiencing "setbacks" or relapses with restriction, etc.

Note: Struggles related to weight should be posted to the weight/bodily changes thread (recurring on Thursdays).

and how long did it take u to actually feel satisfied most of your meals or does it vary firm day to day ?

I am so tired of opening instagram and seeing another influencer claiming they eat intuitively while strictly avoiding dairy, sugar, or whatever the new fear food is... like how is that intuitive

It honestly makes my brain feel like mush trying to navigate what is actual body awareness and what is just restriction wearing a cute matching workout set. Lately my anxiety around food has been creeping back up because of all these "gut healing" trends that are literally just diets in disguise. It took me a long time to admit that my relationship with food was still deeply messed up despite thinking I was doing IE right

Im finally taking a step back from social media to focus on my actual recovery. A friend gave me the contact for Eating Disorder Solutions to look into some virtual outpatient support since trying to do this completely alone is clearly not working for me anymore

it just feels like the second you get comfortable listening to your body the internet tries to convince you that your body is wrong. Just putting my phone down for the weekend to breathe.

I just finished reading intuitive eating today. I have struggled with binge eating for most of my development years. I’m twenty two now (and a woman). I have tried practicing intuitive eating for the past few weeks, but I am really struggling. I am either surrounded by women whose main priority is to lose weight and be thin, or around women who already are thin.

My mom and my dad have been dieting on and off for as long as I remember. The stuff that my mom says makes me feel really sad and bad for her. She’s almost 60 and she still hasn’t released herself from the clenched jaws of diet culture. My boyfriend is kind of starting to be orthorexic vibes, being obsessed with seed oils and “perfect nutrition” and is not shy of preaching to me about his beliefs. Even my older sister is constantly making comments about how she needs to be dieting. It’s really just the language that they use that really affects me.

I live with my parents and they rarely keep the fridge or pantries stocked with anything super substantial or tasty because they are dieting. I plan to do my own grocery shopping and find some stuff that I like, but I have yet to do so.

I have been relapsing and bingeing basically every night for the past week or so. I have been really stressed with my schedule, and everybody’s obsession with losing weight is really starting to weigh on me and make this hard.

Does anybody have any advice on how I can tune out this diet talk when it’s kind of…constant?

Ive listened to the audio book and have been working on this for a few years. Some things are WAY better, some things are a struggle.

Recently I've gotten fixated on being fat, and that I don't want to be fat, i want to be fit, lose weight, gain muscle, increase flexibility, improve mobility, etc. Most of that is great. It's the fixation on fat/weight loss that I am stuck on. It is turning into a loop that is causing a lot of distress and i am struging to let it go.

I no longer have fear foods, the food noise is overall much much quieter, I eat more regularly and more balanced.

I still over eat at meal times. I will literally say "I am so full!" Then proceed to eat more. Occasionally I leave some on my plate, but not often. I will sometimes even get seconds after I am absolutely stuffed. This is a struggle for me, because I am deliberately ignoring fullness queues. I have no desire or intention to deprive myself, but the deliberate over eating at meal times is also distressing.

Recently ive started saying things like "maybe I should stop eating" and "i don't want to be fat" or to my partner "stop feeding me delicious food" and today "you just want me to be fat and happy." My partner doesn't care at all about my weight, as long as I'm happy, healthy, and capable of doing what i need/want to do, which i mostly am.

I don't know where to go from here besides the gym. I have gained muscle since we started the garden, which is cool. I think i need to do something about hormones because im 44 and having some perimeno symptoms. Ugh. It's just a struggle rn. Feels like going backward.

How do you let go of the inner weightloss loop and desire to lose weight? How do you increase movement and exercise without it turning into a push for weightloss or getting burned out on a routine? How do you stop over eating at meal times when you recognize fullness then intentionally push yourself past pleasantly full to uncomfortably full without it turning into restriction?

after i brushed my teeth and already had dinner and a small sweet treat, my teenage brother decides he will order 12 donuts. we all get our picks, and i pick the glazed, the red velvet and a caramel crunch something. yummmm. but i was full and i knew that i literally can have these anytime (all of this was more subconscious tbh, i had internalized the experience of never dieting so i know i can have whatever i want whenever- unless it is vacation! or a buffet! i normalized the fact that i will often overeat in those times ) so i was able to sleep in peace. however, istg i woke up several times during the night dreaming about having that donut. any one of them. so when i finally got up, i was like yk what? it might be objectively unhealthy to have desert first thing in the morning, but i’m craving coffee and donuts for breakfast! and so i did.

i had my coffee with a splash of milk to my liking and a red velvet donut. at some point the sweetness became overwhelming and i left a bite of the donut (now sitting on a plate in my room) and had a couple of almonds with it. if i didn’t listen to my body, and had eggs for example, i would’ve just felt unhappy during the meal and had the whole donut if not several afterwards! that was an amazing breakfast and i feel so good right now!

donuts for breakfast is amazing

I have been weaning my 7 month old for about 6 weeks. He eats good amounts and enjoys it. It’s been a very positive experience so far.

I have always been very overweight and really don’t want to pass my food issues on to him. I have read a couple of books on intuitive eating and am hoping to raise him with these principles. I am also trying to implement them myself.

He eats with us and, during mealtimes, I stay very neutral. I will just say things like “this is broccoli” when I give it to him and then let him get on with it. My husband and I otherwise just carry on chatting and interacting him like we would at any other time.

When my mum is with us, she’s finds this approach very hard. She talks in a very excited manner to him with a big smile and wide eyes, constantly saying things like “yum yum isn’t that DELICIOUS?!” and “you like that don’t you?!”. To me, this risks over-riding his own inbuilt intuitive eating signals. I know he can’t understand the words yet but there is lots of non-verbal stuff going on too. I have repeatedly asked her not to do this but she doesn’t agree. We have a close relationship, she is a very involved grandmother and in all other aspects of my parenting, she respects my approach.

A huge deal was made of food when I was growing up. My parents would spend a large chunk of each mealtime talking about how delicious the food was, food was used as a reward for lots of things, but at the same time “unhealthy” foods were very restricted. My brother and I have always been overweight and have been obese since being adults. I don’t blame my mum at all - she is a fantastic mum and absolutely did what she thought was the right thing - but I do want to try to do things differently with my child in the hope of avoiding him also growing up with food issues.

So two questions:

1. ⁠Is what I am trying to do the right thing? Is there any evidence around whether a caregiver’s attitude to food (fairly neutral vs highly excited/encouraging) makes a difference? Will it over-ride his intuitive eating signals?
2. ⁠If so how can I get my mum to respect my approach? Is there anything specific you would recommend me giving her to read?

Thanks in advance!

It literally varies Alot from day to day , some meals I can actually feel satiated and just physically full , like I'm actually satisfied and I don't want to eat anymore

Some days it's like whatever I ate I can feel physically stuffed but I can't seem to be satiated at all , it's like food just keeps digesting but I'm never satiated

For people who have been doing intuitive eating for years , does this go away? Or be less

Are the constant GLP-1 weight loss ads getting to you?

Have you noticed any concerning trends in media that worry you?

Is there an uptick in negative body talk in your workplace or among your friends and family?

Are you facing social or medical stigma that you want to get off your chest?

Your rants, concerns, and grievances about diet culture and weight stigma in the general media or that you've experienced personally are welcome to be discussed in this thread.

I just want to share how happy I am since saying goodbye to diet culture. I feel peace and have space in my head to other things and to be creative. I cleaned my algorithm too and filled it with anti diet stuff and normal bodies and strong females just being themselves and not showing abs or glutes in their openings. I eat healthy and also enjoy life. I have veggies and also gelato 🍨 😆🙌🏾 I don’t weight myself anymore.I love my body the way it is. I eat to perform (bodybuilding) and get stronger, not to have abs. Food is fuel and we are meant to enjoy it.

I grew up with the usual messages:
Finish your plate.
Don’t waste food.
Be grateful for what you have.

Looking back, I understand where those lessons came from. Food wasn’t something to take for granted. But now that I’m an adult (and a parent), I’ve noticed how often those rules override my actual hunger cues.

My toddlers rarely finish everything on their plates, and I still catch myself feeling guilty throwing away the leftovers—even when I’m not hungry and no one else is going to eat them. I’ve been trying to reframe it. Sometimes the food already served its purpose. It brought everyone to the table. It let my kids try something new. It was part of a family meal.

If I eat past fullness just to avoid throwing it away, I’m not really preventing waste. I’m just moving the “waste” from the trash can to my own body. That got me wondering how many other childhood rules quietly shape our adult habits without us realizing it.

Has anyone else noticed this? Or found yourself questioning another “rule” you grew up with?

TRIGGER WARNING talks about fear of binging

>! can feel my fullness clues, finally after lots of time. The problem is that if I tell myself to stop at when I am full I feel restricted, so I overeat, but I don't want the food anymore, its just out of fear of binging later. So I let myself overeat every single meal, which is not a bad thing, but I just want to listen to my body, and I'm hearing it, but if I don't respect what it says it might just stop being so easy to listen to. !<

>!I do not want to restrict at all, and haven't been restricting for almost a year now, I just want to stop when I'm full. It annoys me not being able to! I keep thinking, oh well I am done, then part of me goes, just a bit more what if you binge later? What If the food noise comes back? !<

I have ADHD, when medicated I cannot tell if I am even hungry until I am ravenous and will hog my food up.
Without medication I cannot tell when I am full, until I am full to the point of feeling nauseous and bloated.

I genuinely cannot comprehend..the feeling? Like I try to use a hunger scale but I cannot seem to tell what actually a “somewhat hungry” feels like ? (I use the hunger scale Colleen Christensen provides)

Plus when eating, there is a tiny voice in my head that tells me “maybe I am full?” but I cannot seem to physically stop myself until I feel uncomfortably full.

Please help!

Also, with the whole binge-restrict cycle my entire life, I cannot seem to shake off the need to want to log in my calories and weigh my food etc.. any tips for that would also be appreciated!

About me: I am a newbie, barely been 3 days and have only consumed YT content mainly Colleen Christensen (no food rules) and diet.culture.rebel related content.

I would appreciate any recommendations on free books (or reasonably priced) and podcasts would be ideal..

I have always struggled with a binge-restrict cycle.. the whole weight gain/loss hoopla.

IDK yall but compared to my family members I eat A LOT.

For example my younger sister wakes up at 2pm stays two hours awake playing videogames on her pc, eats a bowl of cereal and then nothing until dinner which consists of a very small portion, like one chicken leg and 3-4 spoons of rice. As she stays awake until 3am she may have a couple of cookies, id say 5-6 max (like oreos). BRO HOW ARE YOU NOT STARVING?? And she eats so slowly. And dont give me the intuitive eating bullshit I once tried to eat the same as her for dinner, even ate a little more and spent the next two hours feeling hungry asl. I just dont get how ppl can eat lets say a banana or even nothing for breakfast and call it a day. How arent you famished?? Do you not have hunger cues? I feel so guilty for this. And it drives my brain nuts, cuz everytime I feel like eating it feels like Im failling. Maybe Im just greedy asl.

So I have recovered from an ED, and have been since 2020. In this process, I’ve also learnt about myself and that I’m Autistic. I’ve noticed that, while I’ve come a long way in accepting my body for what it is, I still struggle with the feelings of fullness. From doing some deep work into my own feelings, the distress is so much akin to when I feel overstimulated. Finding this link has made me realise that the feeling of fullness leads to overstimulation. Basically, does anybody have any tips for somebody who is autistic for what to do when this feeling arises? I very rarely would say I ‘overeat’ per se, but definitely eat until I’m full.

Side note: when I was a child, I’ve had intense OCD tendencies related to a fear of vomit and vomiting, thus the feeling of fullness also reminds me of the panic I felt when I was younger.

Any advice or experience would be super helpful! Thanks (:

I’m so uncomfortable.

Yesterday I had to change my belly button piercing that, mind you, I’ve had for 5 years, because it was STABBING me. Because my stomach has changed size so much that my butterfly shaped belly button ring was actually SCRATCHING UP my belly button.

Today I had to put on a REAL BRA for the first time in at least 3 years because I’ve always worn sports bras but mine are all now TOO small and my boobs are too BIG that braless is uncomfortable and oh yeah my boobs are also SWEATING.

I also have PCOS (and maybe HA or maybe just PCOS I don’t even KNOW) so my doctor tells me I need to be monitoring my calories and carbs and sweets.

And my therapist has me keeping track of my emotions around eating so I have a literal log of the fact that’s I’ve spent 3 hours nonstop thinking about eggs and rice cakes.

I woke up at 3 am and guess what my first thought was?? Food

Guys I can’t do this. I feel so off balance I am PHYSICALLY uncomfortable in my body and I also am INSATIABLE so I’m uncomfortable in my brain and everything is wrong

i’ve somehow managed to avoid weighing myself and i plan to get rid of my scale, but it’s still on my mind a lot.
throughout my life, i’ve been naturally thin. and then i just had to go and get an ed and mess everything up and i’m pretty sure i now weigh more than i did before developing one.
appearance aside, i genuinely do not like the idea of my chest getting larger if i gain weight, or the fact that having bigger thighs might give me a more overtly feminine figure (and i’m also just really scared of my thigh gap getting smaller because it feels uncomfortable to have them touch).

it’s really difficult to not be tempted to start tracking calories again, or to restrict in some other way, but i really don’t want to. i hate spending so much time thinking about this because it distracts from the actually important things i need to be doing, like studying. it also has previously triggered binges because it makes me feel hopeless(?)

i’ve basically just been telling myself that if i keep eating ‘normally’, i’ll go back to how i was before. but i guess this doesn’t really help the root issue of me being scared of my body changing.

I feel like the replies on posts here devolve to one type of comment 90% of the time which is "just read the book". What's the point of having a subreddit at all if all anyone replies is that?

It really lowers the chances of spreading the message of IE if the book becomes required reading instead of a source of information. Not everyone is going to read the book, period.

I struggle pretty badly with food addiction. I wouldn’t say I binge eat but I definitely get out of control. Regardless of whether I’m stuffed if a craving gets triggered I have extremely low will power and will eat it. It’s not that I think the foods I’m craving are bad it’s that I don’t stop until I feel satisfied enough but often times it’s way too much. Especially ultra processed foods, if I’m around it I will eat it. I care about my health and fitness and this habit is really controlling me.

How do I find the grey area between eating for pleasure/honoring a craving and just feeling out of control with my addiction.

As for the cause of my addiction it’s literally just because I love food. There’s no emotional eating or restriction. I literally just love food and the dopamine it brings me.

I understand a pretty big principle of intuitive eating is stopping when you’re satisfied. However, people describe that as being full or mentally satisfied, and I don’t feel mentally satisfied until I’ve eaten until sickness.

I’d love to intuitively eat but I want to not only be healthy but I also DO want to be able to enjoy cravings when I’m already full, just not to the extent I am now.

I haven’t read any of the core books but I have researched online. I have just started to try and stick to it again.